Secure computer operation with virtual machine partitioning

Abstract

In an earlier paper, I noted the extremes to which one commercial company, System Development Corporation (SDC), has gone to satisfy its disparate security/privacy requirements; this may be typical of at least one-half of the industry. In brief, the solution is to have two CPUs; six different operating systems, including two custom products; six user classes from research and development to a Corporate Management Information System; and four blocked-time periods, i.e., Periods Processing, per machine. This distasteful Periods Processing (PP) solution is the only choice for demanding facility operators, short of not processing sensitive data, and the only one accepted by the U.S. Department of Defense.